T-burg businesses face staffing shortages

Last month, Little Venice announced it would be closed on Wednesdays due to a shortage of staff. Given the Main Street restaurant’s tradition of being open all but two days of the year — Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day — the decision to close one day a week was a tough one, said co-owner Jessica Gardner.

“We wanted to ensure everybody had time off,” she said. “Everybody was just getting burnt out and working too much. We only closed two days a year since 1992, and now, we’re closed one whole day a week. We want to reopen on Wednesdays; we also want to be able to offer our salad bar, but we don’t have the staff.”

Inadequate staffing is something Little Venice has faced since the restaurant reopened fully after being closed due to pandemic restrictions.

“We have had an influx of business and we didn’t have enough staff to accommodate the busyness,” Gardner said.

She said kitchen staff is Little Venice’s biggest need.

“We need front-of-house staff, too, but not as badly as in the kitchen,” she said. “I have talked to a lot of people. Even a temp agency I tried to work with said everybody in Ithaca is in the same boat. So many different people I’ve talked to — and I’ve talked to people in completely different industries than me — it’s affecting every business.”

Gardner said she has advertised jobs on social media and Indeed and has also reached out to temp agencies for help in filling her vacancies.

“We’re offering a sign-on bonus,” she said. “We just can’t get anybody to stick.”

Trumansburg Shur-Save has a sign on its door letting people know the lack of staff will affect its hours, which could vary on a daily basis.

“Due to the EXTREME lack of labor our hours of operation cannot remain the same. Unfortunately, our HOURS WILL VARY DAILY depending on the availability of staff,” the sign reads. “We are very sorry for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding. We hope this situation is short lived and we’ll continue to try and do our very best to meet our customers needs. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT.”

When reached by phone, owner Bret Seafuse initially said he didn’t have time to talk.

“I’m doing about 10 people’s jobs right now, so that’s the story right there,” he said.

When asked when he might have time to discuss the staffing issue plaguing his business, Seafuse said when he could find more workers. He then asked to put me on hold.

“[When] the owner answers the phone, it is absolutely, beyond your wildest imagination, bad,” he said when he returned to the line after a couple of minutes, noting that he had four people waiting for him to finish the phone call. “I’ve got probably 80 hours in this week. Businesses are closing left and right and limiting their hours. And it’s just going to get worse and worse.”

The situation could get worse for Shur-Save as well because a lot of its younger employees are still in school.

“When the kids go back to school, I literally don’t have an adult cashier on the payroll,” Seafuse said. “I don’t have one application, not one prospect and nothing coming in.”

Nana Potenza, Trumansburg Area Chamber of Commerce board member, said the staffing shortage issue affecting Trumansburg businesses is “kind of the same everywhere.”

“It’s not limited to our area,” she said. “There is a workforce shortage everywhere. Whether people are shortening their hours or working fewer days, people want to blame the unemployment benefits [that were expanded during the pandemic].”

While Seafuse did not offer his thoughts on why staffing is such an issue right now, Gardner did say she believed the expanded unemployment benefits are a big factor. In the most recent federal coronavirus stimulus bill, an additional $300 payment was added for those who are unemployed, on top of regular unemployment benefits. That is due to expire Sept. 6.

“[The extra benefit] is great for people who need it and can’t work, but I think some people are definitely taking advantage,” Gardner said. “People are coming in and applying, and I’m hiring them. Then, they work for a day and quit because that meets the state requirements for filing for unemployment, and that [paying for unemployment] hits me as well.”

But Potenza said there are other factors at play with people who left jobs and haven’t returned to their former employers.

“[Factors such as] child care issues, and everyone has different comfort levels with COVID,” she said. “Also, people have learned through the pandemic, and they are balancing work and home life a little better.”

It’s not just staffing that has changed during the pandemic, but also people’s attitudes toward people working essential jobs at food and drink establishments and retail stores.

“In the beginning of COVID, everybody was so kind,” Gardner said, adding that that has changed some and people have been giving her staff a hard time.

Potenza stressed that people who work in public-facing jobs — think restaurants, lodging, convenience and grocery stores, and any other place where face-to-face interaction is necessary — don’t have remote options for their job. She encouraged people to consider that when they hear about longer waits or shorter hours.

“It is important for our community to recognize [that] our employers, especially in the hospitality industry, are struggling,” Potenza said. “It is important for us as customers to understand that if service isn’t the same, if there is a longer wait, that they are doing their best.”

For more information on employment challenges across the county, visit tompkinsweekly.com/articles/many-factors-influencing
-complex-employment-issues.

Have Trumansburg-area news? Connect with Rob Montana at rob.j.montana@gmail.com.